The Auric Insignia by Perry Horste Read Free Book Online

again.
         This information filled Korri with dread. Her hope of some lucky fool stumbling upon this poison seemed less likely for every moment passing. The deliberate setup orchestrated by this huntress on top of the involvement of the south cities, gave a chill to her bones. Her mind went from one bad scenario to the next until Roarke broke the silence.
         - How gracious of her......
         - I didn’t see the harm in it! I thought if they worked that would be great and even if they didn’t, I could probably still sell them.
         Korri was dismayed, having had her worst suspicions proving far more likely, if not confirmed.
         - We’re done here.
         - What are you going to do to us!? I just, I..
         Before he could finish, Korri had knocked him out, his body going limp as it sagged unto the floor. Roarke felt tears trickle over his hand as the previously catatonic woman panicked over the sight of her unconscious husband on the floor. Her panic was mercifully cut short by a swift strike to the head, courtesy of Korri. By the time Roarke had placed her back on the bed, Korri were already going out of the bedroom door.
         - Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Now let’s go, we have work to do.
     
    ***
     
     

Candy and rainbows, what do you think?
     
    They were rushing back to the house. Staying off the road, they traveled through the thick vegetation that made up the forest floor this far north. Ever since they had finished their mission in the town, Korri’s mind had seemed elsewhere. Roarke had demanded answers, to which he had received nothing but a vague promise of future explanation. They traveled in darkness to minimize the risk of detection from possible trackers, and even if the sun would soon begin its ascent, the forest floor was still dark as a dungeon. Hurdling over roots and dodging low branches, Roarke’s eyes were fixed on his veritable guiding star this night, the tail dipped in silver and bronze, darting in and out of the trees in front of him, catching just enough light for it not to completely vanish in the verdant chaparral.
         Even if these woods were his home, and had been for his whole life, Roarke feared he would be lost if he lost sight of her, with a stitch growing in his side he pushed himself in order to keep up. Scurrying through the underbrush, the absurdity of the situation hit him, him, Roarke, the stalwart protector of quiescence, had agreed to a chain of events that would inevitably cause his world as he knew it to crumble. If he got lost in these woods, would she come back for him? Roarke didn’t know the answer, and he didn’t know her, he didn’t even know if they were running from something, or towards something. Taking an objective look at the situation, he didn’t know if he should laugh aloud or cry. Here he was, on a cloak and dagger mission, making his deftly escape in the dead of night. To top it all off, his partner in crime was like a concoction of fantasy, taken from the deranged mind of a madman. Roarke laughed a bitter laugh at his own folly, either he was so completely unhinged that he had pulled a figment of his imagination from his head, implementing it into the real world. Or he was so foolish as to follow the whims of an actual monster after essentially no explanation and far too little coercion. Running where he did, ducking branches and jumping over rocks, Roarke wondered which one was worst.
         The silence of the night offered no wisdom and before long, reality interrupted. Some distance in front of him, there was a dim light, light provided by the clearing around his cabin, closing in on the treeline, the light granted color to the drab world of the night. Crouching by the trunk of a giant Ymo tree some thirty feet from the clearing, was Korri, as he approached, she signaled for him to join her. Panting from the long run, he took support from the leafed giant as he kneeled beside her.
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